FebruaryStation
Member
Yeah, first post here. Sorry.
So look, most of the places I hang out on the internet have a strong leftist bent. And usually that's fine, leftist views are more in line with my personal politics. The thing is, often issues come up where I think to myself, "I'd really like to know what the other side thinks about this." but there's no one to ask. If I post a thread on my usual spots, it's just going to get crowded with people with more leftist views eager to argue with any more conservative poster that's dumb enough to respond. I don't want that, I want to find out what the more right-wing portion of the population (mostly from an American perspective) actually thinks without getting into an argument about it.
So I heard about The Sietch as being a message board where some of the more conservative posters from Spacebattles (and SV?) had migrated when they felt they were no longer welcome at SB. And that's about all I know; I've never paid much attention to the politics of Spacebattles. Sorry. But it seemed like this could be a place to go to ask some of those questions.
I don't want to come into someone's home and shit on the floor. My rules for this are:
1. I'm going to try to avoid arguing back. I may sometimes ask for more clarification, or I may leave it as "Thank you for the response," but I don't want to get into an argument in someone else's home.
2. I am going to try to avoid talking about specific politicians. I'm more interested in general political philosophy or what you see yourselves as trying to accomplish.
3. I would like to avoid the "but what about the left" responses, though of course I can't control how you respond. Yeah, I don't know, probably there's plenty of shit talk and hypocrisy on the left, but I'd more like to hear about your personal experiences than the bad stuff people on the other side have done.
I may not get back to this thread every hour or anything since this isn't one of my regular spots, but I'll try to at least thank anyone who responds for their efforts.
So here we go, these are some starter questions.
1. Often in the very leftist/liberal spaces I hang out in, there is an accusation thrown around that leftists are supposed to try to understand and empathize with the point of view of the right wing, but there is no reciprocity. That is, no right wing media articles trying to patiently explain, "This is what leftists think and why, and here's how you can reach out to leftists in your life to try and find common ground. They're good people, just like you, they only have a different view of some things. Etc." Do you feel like that's incorrect and that there's a lot of work done by the right to reach out and try to talk to the left? Have you personally ever had a leftist person in your life that you asked to explain their views to you and that sort of thing? Do you have a favorite article written for a right wing audience that's like "liberals explained so you can understand them" that seems sincere? Is there a "Hillbilly Elegy" for the right? Again (taps rule #3) please let's not make the conversation about whether leftists are actually trying to understand conservatives or not.
2. This one is American politics centered. On a federal level especially (though answer for other government levels if you like), what is the legislative agenda of the Republican party from your point of view as a common voter? What laws, specifically laws, would you like to see passed? What are the big priorities that can be addressed by laws. You notice how I keep saying "laws"? That's because, from my point of view, it often seems like Republican members of Congress spend a lot of time talking about issues that aren't really in the domain of government, or if they are seem only tangential. Like I don't think "cancel culture" is something that the United States Congress can really do much about. (Or maybe I'm wrong and you do think that.) But what laws would you like to see a Republican president and Congress pass if they could just pass any law they wanted? What would your highest legislative priorities be?
3. I see conservative arguments about immigration often get framed as an economic issue. Low skill immigrants driving down wages for low wage American workers. Immigrants taking too much money from the social safety net. But is it really just about the money? If you saw a convincing economic study that immigrants made the local community wealthier on net after, say, ten years of investment would you change your mind? Or maybe you don't need to change your mind. Do you have a sense for how much immigration you want to see? What about people coming into America to work and then leaving? How hard do you think that should be? Are there cultural concerns as well?
I guess I should say that I watched "An American Tail" growing up, you know. I heard about Ellis Island and immigrants coming in, being registered with a name, and getting citizenship like it was nothing... and framed in a positive way. Hey, I understand this is a really big question, but I guess I'd like to hear about what you as a conservative think about immigration in terms of general philosophy rather than as a specific question about border security or what to do with people here illegally or any of that.
4. Often in leftist circles you get a frustrated "why can't we convince conservatives of X; don't they see it would be in their own self-interest". So what's the reverse? What are the issues that conservatives see where you think leftists are absolutely screwing themselves, where it would be way more in their personal self-interest to follow the conservative policies because it would help them live happier, healthier, safer lives? Not cultural stuff, but areas where you legitimately think that if only leftists would understand what conservatives want to do, they'd see how it would make them more secure and better off.[1]
[1] You don't have to tell me about land use regulations. Screw mandatory single family occupancy and the leftists who support it.
Okay, I think that was a pretty good starter. If this thread is in any way successful, I might come back and ask more questions as they occur to me. Thanks in advance for anyone participating.
So look, most of the places I hang out on the internet have a strong leftist bent. And usually that's fine, leftist views are more in line with my personal politics. The thing is, often issues come up where I think to myself, "I'd really like to know what the other side thinks about this." but there's no one to ask. If I post a thread on my usual spots, it's just going to get crowded with people with more leftist views eager to argue with any more conservative poster that's dumb enough to respond. I don't want that, I want to find out what the more right-wing portion of the population (mostly from an American perspective) actually thinks without getting into an argument about it.
So I heard about The Sietch as being a message board where some of the more conservative posters from Spacebattles (and SV?) had migrated when they felt they were no longer welcome at SB. And that's about all I know; I've never paid much attention to the politics of Spacebattles. Sorry. But it seemed like this could be a place to go to ask some of those questions.
I don't want to come into someone's home and shit on the floor. My rules for this are:
1. I'm going to try to avoid arguing back. I may sometimes ask for more clarification, or I may leave it as "Thank you for the response," but I don't want to get into an argument in someone else's home.
2. I am going to try to avoid talking about specific politicians. I'm more interested in general political philosophy or what you see yourselves as trying to accomplish.
3. I would like to avoid the "but what about the left" responses, though of course I can't control how you respond. Yeah, I don't know, probably there's plenty of shit talk and hypocrisy on the left, but I'd more like to hear about your personal experiences than the bad stuff people on the other side have done.
I may not get back to this thread every hour or anything since this isn't one of my regular spots, but I'll try to at least thank anyone who responds for their efforts.
So here we go, these are some starter questions.
1. Often in the very leftist/liberal spaces I hang out in, there is an accusation thrown around that leftists are supposed to try to understand and empathize with the point of view of the right wing, but there is no reciprocity. That is, no right wing media articles trying to patiently explain, "This is what leftists think and why, and here's how you can reach out to leftists in your life to try and find common ground. They're good people, just like you, they only have a different view of some things. Etc." Do you feel like that's incorrect and that there's a lot of work done by the right to reach out and try to talk to the left? Have you personally ever had a leftist person in your life that you asked to explain their views to you and that sort of thing? Do you have a favorite article written for a right wing audience that's like "liberals explained so you can understand them" that seems sincere? Is there a "Hillbilly Elegy" for the right? Again (taps rule #3) please let's not make the conversation about whether leftists are actually trying to understand conservatives or not.
2. This one is American politics centered. On a federal level especially (though answer for other government levels if you like), what is the legislative agenda of the Republican party from your point of view as a common voter? What laws, specifically laws, would you like to see passed? What are the big priorities that can be addressed by laws. You notice how I keep saying "laws"? That's because, from my point of view, it often seems like Republican members of Congress spend a lot of time talking about issues that aren't really in the domain of government, or if they are seem only tangential. Like I don't think "cancel culture" is something that the United States Congress can really do much about. (Or maybe I'm wrong and you do think that.) But what laws would you like to see a Republican president and Congress pass if they could just pass any law they wanted? What would your highest legislative priorities be?
3. I see conservative arguments about immigration often get framed as an economic issue. Low skill immigrants driving down wages for low wage American workers. Immigrants taking too much money from the social safety net. But is it really just about the money? If you saw a convincing economic study that immigrants made the local community wealthier on net after, say, ten years of investment would you change your mind? Or maybe you don't need to change your mind. Do you have a sense for how much immigration you want to see? What about people coming into America to work and then leaving? How hard do you think that should be? Are there cultural concerns as well?
I guess I should say that I watched "An American Tail" growing up, you know. I heard about Ellis Island and immigrants coming in, being registered with a name, and getting citizenship like it was nothing... and framed in a positive way. Hey, I understand this is a really big question, but I guess I'd like to hear about what you as a conservative think about immigration in terms of general philosophy rather than as a specific question about border security or what to do with people here illegally or any of that.
4. Often in leftist circles you get a frustrated "why can't we convince conservatives of X; don't they see it would be in their own self-interest". So what's the reverse? What are the issues that conservatives see where you think leftists are absolutely screwing themselves, where it would be way more in their personal self-interest to follow the conservative policies because it would help them live happier, healthier, safer lives? Not cultural stuff, but areas where you legitimately think that if only leftists would understand what conservatives want to do, they'd see how it would make them more secure and better off.[1]
[1] You don't have to tell me about land use regulations. Screw mandatory single family occupancy and the leftists who support it.
Okay, I think that was a pretty good starter. If this thread is in any way successful, I might come back and ask more questions as they occur to me. Thanks in advance for anyone participating.